literature

Soul Fire Chapter 27

Deviation Actions

FifteenthApostle's avatar
Published:
7K Views

Literature Text

Soul Fire a NaruHina fan fic

Volume 3

Chapter 27: Meeting your destiny

Part 1

Hitomi Haruka casually flicked through the file in her hands. What she saw didn't look particularly impressive. 'Failed the academy graduation exam three times... Worst scores in his graduating class... Related poorly with fellow students... Punished countless times for skipping classes and misbehaving...' He looked like the classic trouble maker, acting out to get attention. Not the kind of student anyone would choose to teach.

She snapped the file shut, tossed it onto the coffee table and picked up the second. 'Test scores average at best... Lowest scoring kunoichi in her graduating class... Reluctant to participate in group activities... Said to lack motivation and be discouraged easily...' She was far from being a model student, herself. Of course the file paid particular attention to her family ties. Hitomi shut the folder with a sneer of disgust and dumped it on top of the other.

"I'm not here to read old test scores, Sensei," Hitomi stated with a look or boredom. "When am I going to meet these two?"

The Hokage looked up from her drink. "If you're going to travel with them, you'll have to know their abilities. You haven't even looked at their ninja career files yet."

Hitomi shook her head. "Not a chance. I've probably got enough misconceptions about them already from those academy records." She leaned back on the couch putting her feet up on top of the folders. "I mean I understand why a ninja village would need standardised training and tests, but I've never put a whole lot of faith in that kind of system. No amount of figures and second hand reports can ever tell you if someone is going to make a good ninja... or a good anything for that matter."

The Hokage chuckled. "Well it looks like Master Daichi really got to you, didn't he?"

"You're damn right he did," Hitomi answered with a smirk. "The old man always knew what he was talking about."

Tsunade hid a smile behind her cup. "Speaking of Master Daichi, how's he been doing recently?"

Hitomi shrugged. "Haven't seen him for over a year now, but the last time I did, he was happily enjoying his retirement. The old school's been pretty much empty since he closed it."

"He's not living alone, is he?" Tsunade asked with a hint of concern. "He shouldn't be, at his age."

"No, he's not completely alone." Hitomi rolled her eyes. "One of the old students is still living there." She noticed a sideways glance and a slight snigger from Shizune. She ignored the brunette and turned back to the Hokage. "I take it you haven't heard from him in a while."

Tsunade shook her head. "Not for years. I was actually thinking of sending him a letter."

"What for? You want to catch up on old times?"

"Actually, he's my backup plan."

Hitomi cocked an eyebrow over her sake cup. "You mean in case I don't want to take them myself?"

Tsunade nodded. "If he wasn't retired, he might have been my first choice. That's if he was willing to take them in, of course."

"Do you think he would?"

"He took you in, didn't he?"

Hitomi gave an amused snort. "That he did." She sipped her sake slowly and thought. "Hmm... I guess it couldn't hurt to ask him."

"I was thinking," Tsunade continued. "If you decided not to take them on yourself, would you at least be willing to escort them to Master Daichi?"

Hitomi shrugged. "Sure, why not? It's the least I could do for you, Sensei."

Shizune, who had been sifting through paperwork until then, was starting to get a little concerned about where the conversation was going. "Does that mean you don't want to take them?" she asked Hitomi, while giving the Hokage a curious glance. Surely her mentor hadn't sent her on a two week mission to track Hitomi down just so she could ask her to deliver the teenagers to somebody else.

Hitomi leant back on the couch and considered the brunette's question for a few moments. "Eh, I don't know," she shrugged. "If the old man was okay with the idea, it'd be better for them to hang out with him. I am the second choice, after all. And I could definitely do without the hassle."

Shizune's heart sunk. "So that's a no?" She'd gone to a lot of trouble to find the snow haired woman.

"Well, I do want to help you guys out," Hitomi said unenthusiastically, "but Master Daichi is probably the best choice."

Tsunade gave a nostalgic sigh. "Old Man Daichi... he's the last of a dying breed, like Sarutobi Sensei." She looked up at the portrait of her old teacher hanging on the wall along with the pictures of the other previous hokages. "The teaching methods he devised were revolutionary at the time. Nowadays they're standard practice within our own academy – the Third saw to that. But it was the way he dealt with individual students that made him a true genius – the way he could spot a person's underlying potential and know exactly how to draw it out – it was his unique hands-on approach. That's something we just can't replicate with our standardised training system. But, like you said, Hitomi, a ninja village needs that kind of system." She looked down at the reflection in her sake cup sadly. "Maybe that's why these two have been struggling. They need somebody like Master Daichi to give them the special treatment they need to truly achieve their potential. I wish I could have spent more time studying his methods."

Hitomi snorted. "You were always too busy trying to avoid your debt collectors to stick around," she chided. "Who knows? If you hadn't been roped into this Hokage gig, you might have ended up being his successor."

Tsunade almost choked on her sake in a fit of giggling.

"I'm serious," Hitomi insisted. "I think he always wanted somebody like you to take his place and keep the school running." She poured herself another cup and swirled the warm liquid under her nose. "Unfortunately none of his students ever had the potential to take his place."

"What about Masaru?" Shizune chipped in.

Hitomi froze, mid sip. Her ice-blue eyes rolled in the direction of the brunette and glared at her incredulously. "Please tell me you're joking."

Shizune stared back innocuously in return. "What?"

Neither of them noticed Tsunade's hidden smile.

Hitomi slapped her cup down on the coffee table and barked out a mocking laugh. "Masaru replace Master Daichi? He could barely replace a light bulb."

"Don't be like that that," Shizune protested. "He's the one that stayed with Master Daichi, isn't he? Masaru was always his favourite student."

Hitomi turned away, folded her arms and fumed. "Only because he took pity on him. Masaru is a natural born loser. He's nothing like the Master."

"Maybe not, but look at what Master Daichi's training did for him," Shizune shot back. "He's living proof that anyone can become a great shinobi." She rested her chin in her hands and sighed. "Masaru... It's been years since I last saw him. I wonder how much he's changed."

Hitomi gave a snort of disgust. "Sorry if I insulted your boyfriend," she said sarcastically.

The blushing brunette quickly turned away. "Hitomi, don't be silly!"

Tsunade sat back and smirked to herself while the younger women argued. "Hmm... perhaps it would be better for them to train under Master Daichi," she said offhandedly, interrupting their squabble.

Both of her students immediately stopped talking and locked their attention on the Hokage.

The buxom blonde leant back on the couch and stared at the ceiling, deliberately avoiding their eyes. "I was reluctant to dump a couple of troublesome teenagers on him – he doesn't need that kind of stress at his age. But if he has somebody to help him..."

"Hold on a second," Hitomi cut in. "I still haven't decided if I want to take them myself."

Tsunade shrugged, still staring at the ceiling. "I don't know. The more I think about it, the more I wonder if you could handle them. I don't want them to cause too much trouble for you, with your family and all. And I really would like them to be trained in Master Daichi's method."

"Hey, I could train them," Hitomi declared. "It wouldn't be the first time. I was one of the Master's best students, remember? I know his teachings backwards."

Shizune blinked. 'Wow. She sure changed her mind all of a sudden. A minute ago she seemed happy to be off the hook.'

"Just let me meet these kids," Hitomi continued. "I'll decide for myself if I can handle them or not."

"Oh alright then, if you really want to," Tsunade agreed, seemingly indifferent. "They've had a few days to recover since they woke up. Why don't you see them tomorrow morning? Oh, and could you take a look at the girl's eyes while you're there?"

"Sure, I'll see what I can do." Hitomi hauled herself off the couch and shook out her hair. "Now if you don't mind, I think I'll go hit those hot springs."

Shizune waited until the snow haired woman had left the room. Then she turned to the still smirking Hokage. "What was that all about? You didn't really bring her all the way here just so she could deliver them to Master Daichi, did you?"

The blonde poured two more drinks and handed one to her assistant. "Don't worry, Shizune. I'm sure you didn't waste your time finding her."

The brunette squinted at her mistress suspiciously. "You have something up your sleeve, don't you, Lady Tsunade?"

She nocked back her cup and smiled contentedly. "Let's just say that Master Daichi's legacy is looking a bit more secure."





Hitomi strolled down the hospital hallways, her flowing mane of white hair swinging back and forth. She soon found the room she was looking for. Security seemed to have been relaxed since the boy woke up. She held out a document, signed by the Hokage, to the chunin guarding the hall.

He perused it thoroughly and looked her up and down before handing it back and letting her pass. "He's in the middle of a check-up right now. You may want to wait."

Hitomi just gave a neutral grunt in response and made her way to the door. She heard voices from inside as she approached.

"Don't lie to me! I know exactly where you were going," said an angry female voice.

'Hmm, that sounds like Tsunade's new apprentice,' Hitomi thought. She leant against the wall next to the door so she could listen in.

"You were trying to sneak off to that ramen shop again, weren't you?" the young woman said accusingly.

"Aw c'mon, Sakura," whined the voice of a young man. "You know I can't stand hospital food."

'And that must be this Naruto kid,' she thought. 'That's right, he has a crush on her, doesn't he?'

"Well you're just going to have to live with it," the young med ninja scolded him. "You're not getting anything else until you leave this hospital. You should consider it punishment for running off the last time and getting yourself beat up even worse."

Hitomi chuckled silently. "Yup, she's Tsunade's apprentice alright."

The young woman sighed heavily. "Why can't you learn to take care of yourself?"

Hitomi cocked an eyebrow. 'Hmm... sounds like she has a soft spot for him after all.' She pushed herself off the wall. 'Alright, I think I've done enough eavesdropping.'

The two teenagers turned to look when they heard a knock at the door.

"Am I interrupting something?" Hitomi asked, her lips betraying a slight smirk.

"Oh, Miss Haruka." The pink haired girl stood to greet her. "Lady Hokage said you'd drop by. You're here to see Naruto, right?"

"Sure am. "Hitomi looked toward the heavily bandaged young man. "How's it going, Blondie?"

The boy just stared at her, mouth half open, a light blush dusting his whisker marked cheeks.

Hitomi couldn't help but smile a little. She was used to young men having this reaction when they first saw her. 'This one should be easy to mess with,' she thought.

Sakura made introductions. "Naruto, this is Hitomi Haruka. She's a friend of Lady Tsunade."

The boy shook himself out of his trance. "Oh, so you're a friend of Grandma then, huh?"

"Grandma?" Hitomi couldn't hold back a giggle. "Never heard anyone call her that." She noticed the pink haired girl frowning at him. "I'm sorry. If you're not finished here I could wait outside."

"No, that's okay," Sakura replied cheerily. "We're all done here." She gathered her medical bag and left, sending one last warning glare at the boy as she walked out the door.

"Yeah, she's definitely Tsunade's apprentice," Hitomi commented as she took a seat next to the bed. "I've had more than a few lectures like that in the past."

"Oh, that's just Sakura. She's kinda always been like that." The boy laughed nervously. "So uh, Miss Haruka, did you, um, want to see me or something?"

She smiled gently, noting the blush creeping ever closer to his ears. "First of all, you can call me Hitomi. I don't like being called by my last name. It makes me feel almost as old as Tsunade." She could see the boy stifling a giggle. "I'm here to help you and your friend with your recovery."

"You mean Hinata?" he asked eagerly. "Have you seen her yet? Is she okay? They told me she woke up, but they still won't let me see her."

"No, I'm afraid I haven't seen her yet. I wanted to check on you first. I heard you got beaten up a lot worse than she did."

The boy folded his arms across his chest and pouted. "Humph, it's all because of her father. If he hadn't dragged Hinata out of the hospital like that, everything would have been fine. Lousy, stubborn, pig-headed..." He trailed off, mumbling a string of curses under his breath.

"Yes I heard about that," Hitomi said with some amusement. "I take it you're not a fan of the Hyuuga."

"You're damn right!" he boldly declared. "Or at least that Lord Hiashi jerk! If I hadn't been so beat up already, I would have taught him a serious lesson! What kind of person would put that caged-bird seal thing on his own daughter, anyway? He thinks she's weak, but he doesn't know anything about her. Hinata's an awesome ninja! I've seen what she can do. She'd make a great clan leader some day. But he was too high and mighty to listen when I tried to tell him that. And he's probably still gonna try to put that damn seal on her the first chance he gets."

Her cool blue eyes narrowed. "So you know about the caged-bird seal then, do you?"

The boy's expression went dark. "Yeah, I know all about it." He clenched his bandaged fists and glared at the wall. "The main branch uses it to control all the other Hyuuga like they're slaves or something. That's just sick! I mean they're supposed to be family, but I saw that jerk use the seal against his own nephew. What right does he have to treat someone else like that?"

She blinked in surprise. 'What do you know? Something we can actually agree on. I might be able to stand this kid after all.'

"Well it's not gonna be like that for long, that's for sure," the boy continued. "I made a promise that I would change the way of the Hyuuga. I'll make them stop using that stupid seal, and change how their whole clan works!" he declared, raising a tightly clenched fist.

Hitomi's eyebrows shot up. 'Well I heard he was gutsy but 'change the way of the Hyuuga'?' The woman chuckled to herself in disbelief. 'I guess he doesn't know much about clan politics.' She hung her arm over the back of her chair and frowned at him sceptically. "So you're going to make them stop using the caged-bird seal, huh? And how exactly do you plan on doing that, Kid?"

The boy turned and fixed her with a look of fierce determination. "No problem. I'm gonna become Hokage!"

Hitomi barely managed to contain a burst of laughter. "Oh really?" she asked, her voice laden with sarcasm. "So you're going to be Hokage, are you?"

"That's right!" he stated, seemingly oblivious to her patent disbelief. "I'm gonna become the greatest Hokage that ever lived! And when I do, I'm gonna make a whole lot of changes in this village. And the first one will be to make the Hyuuga stop using that damn seal! Hinata's old man is gonna be in some serious trouble then. There's no way I'm gonna let him get away with everything he's done," said the boy, smacking a fist into his open palm. "He is going to pay!"

'Wow, this kid is truly delusional,' she decided. 'His heart may be in the right place, but he obviously has no idea what he's talking about. Does he think he's going to become Hokage by beating the crap out of everyone who disagrees with him?' She rolled her eyes when he wasn't looking. 'Yeah, good luck with that, meathead.'

Hitomi reached for the chart hanging on the foot of his bed. "So anyway, let's see if there's anything I can do for you." She flicked through the pages detailing his condition and treatments since being admitted. What she read was nothing short of mind boggling. Although she'd been briefed about his injuries and recovery by Tsunade herself, she still found the records hard to believe. All medical logic said he shouldn't be breathing, let alone talking. "My my, looks like you had some fun, didn't you?" The snow haired woman commented with practiced nonchalance. She maintained her poker face, albeit barely.

In her mind, Hitomi was trembling. She hadn't just been briefed about the standard medical treatments the boy had received. She was one of the few people that knew the real source of his miraculous recovery. Or perhaps diabolical recovery would be more accurate. The woman was both awed and disturbed by the power that the young man in the bed next to her contained.

'This kid should be six feet under,' Hitomi thought fearfully, 'but he's well on his way to a full recovery. Damn, the Nine Tails has abilities I never would have imagined. I wonder if I really can keep a leash on him.'

"So how am I doing?"

"Huh?" Hitomi was startled out of her thoughts by his sudden question.

The boy was blushing again, and the way his eyes wandered said he was trying not to stare. "I mean is there anything you can do to help me?" he asked, smiling a little sheepishly.

The snow haired woman gave him a sideways look. "Hmm... I'm not sure. You seem to be recovering just fine so far. In fact, I'd say you're recovering spectacularly."

"Oh, that's great," he said with a broad smile. "Sakura said I'd be out of here in a few weeks. But I was kinda wondering if there was anything you could do to speed things up. I'm not used to being out of action for so long."

She continued to eye him with suspicion. "Yes, I've been told that you've never stayed in the hospital for more than a few days. According to your medical records, you've managed to recover from some truly horrific injuries, and always in record time. You require minimal treatment and you never suffer any long-term side effects. You don't even have any scars." She flicked through the chart one more time, spotting half a dozen reasons the boy shouldn't have been alive. "For a person to heal that quickly is just remarkable – unheard of – some would even say... inhuman."

There was a pause. The boy shied away from the woman for a moment, but then he just shrugged his shoulders and smiled. "Yeah, well I've always been quick to heal. I used to get into a lot of fights and get beaten up when I was a kid. But no matter how hard those other kids tried, they could never keep me down. All I'd need was a good night's sleep and I'd be back on deck and ready to teach them a lesson," the boy boasted, pumping his bandaged fist. He grinned wide, but his eyes didn't match his smile. "I may be a little bit tougher than other people, but I guess some guys are just lucky, you know? Or maybe my body just got used to all the beatings." He added a light chuckle on the end, obviously forced.

'Wait, is he trying to hide it?' Hitomi thought. She turned to face him properly and folded her arms, taking on a posture of clear scepticism. "You know, I've heard all about your last assignment, as well as your... extra-curricular activities. First this 'Wind Reader' guy turns you into a walking pin cushion, pumping you with enough poison to drop a rhino. But instead of making compost out of you, like it should have, it only manages to put you down for two weeks. And then, as soon as you wake up, you stagger off to have a little chat with this 'Lord Hiashi Jerk'. And he proceeds to show you his hospitality by burning out your entire chakra network and shutting off most of your vital organs." She dangled the boy's chart in front of his face. "According to this, you took such a beating that the only way I should be talking to you is with the assistance of a little old lady and her crystal ball. And yet here you are... not dead!"

His fake grin faltered and he looked away again. "Well yeah, but Grandma is really good at medicine. I mean she's like the best medical ninja in the world or something, right? I probably would be dead right now if it wasn't for her."

Hitomi's flat, disbelieving stare remained. "Tsunade is a genius, but not a miracle worker. No normal human being could survive the kind of punishment you took – I don't care what sort of treatment you received." She leant forward and locked him with an armour piercing stare. "There's something different about you, isn't there?"

The boy couldn't hold her gaze. He looked down at his sheets for a moment before breaking out into awkward and obviously fake laughter. "Well yeah, of course I'm different," he said, louder than necessary. "I'm not just your average run-of-the-mill shinobi. You're looking at the strongest ninja in the whole Leaf village. I'm way tougher than anyone else. After all, no normal person could become Hokage, could they? Only the best of the best, like me, have what it takes." He scratched the back of his head and grinned from ear to ear, still forcing fake laughter through his teeth.

'Boy, does he suck at keeping a secret,' Hitomi thought, slumping back in her chair again. 'So he doesn't want to talk about it, huh? Looks like he'd rather go through life pretending he doesn't have a fifty foot walking apocalypse sealed inside of him. Damn, what a head case. Is this how he's always dealt with it? I was expecting another emotional shipwreck, but it doesn't even seem to faze him. Or maybe he's just too dumb to be depressed.'

For half a minute or so, the snow haired woman sat and watched him try to laugh off his secret shame. 'I wonder what it's been like for him,' she pondered. 'It's no wonder he's such a shrink job if he grew up without a family. Tsunade said that most of his generation doesn't know, but she seemed kind of cagey and depressed about the whole issue. I'm betting that he hasn't told any of his friends about his little secret. He's probably afraid they'd go all torches-and-pitchforks on him. Can't blame him, I guess.' She sighed inwardly as she watched his laughter dwindle into a sheepish smile. 'Still, he's had it a lot better than he could have. When you think about it, it's amazing how positive he is. Hell, he's downright chipper for somebody with all of his problems. I guess this little fantasy he has of becoming Hokage is another way for him to deal with it.'

The boy had gone back to fingering his sheets and avoiding eye contact by now. Hitomi laid the chart aside and glanced at the clock. 'Well, I think I've got a pretty good handle on his personality. He's a typical narcissistic teenage testosterone bomb with massive delusions of grandeur – no surprise there. Still can't be sure if I could stand living with him, though. Oh well, I guess there's just one last thing to check.' A devilish smirk flitted across her lips. 'Time to play my favourite game.'

Hitomi leant forward, propped her chin on a hand and gave him a wink. "So, you and Pinky, huh?"

The boy just goggled at her for a moment. "Pinky? Oh, you mean Sakura," he chuckled. "What about us?"

"Well she's your girlfriend, isn't she?"

The boy's face turned so red so fast that Hitomi almost dove for cover. "Oh, well... um... s-sort of, but... sort of not," he mumbled around an awkward giggle.

"Oh, really?" the snow haired woman asked, seemingly surprised. "I was just talking to her yesterday and she said you two were really close."

Naruto scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "W-well yeah I guess we are, but not like that."

"Are you sure?" she asked in a heavily suggestive tone. "You know, she said she might consider going out with you, once you get better."

His jaw dropped and his eyes bulged. "W-wait, Sakura said that?"

"Sure did," Hitomi lied. "In fact," she glanced at the door before leaning in close and whispering behind her hand, "she told me that she thinks you'd be perfect boyfriend material."

The boy blinked slowly. "P-perfect b-boyfriend material?" he stammered. "A-are you serious?"

"Sure, why wouldn't I be?" she said, with a sweet smile of deception. "She might not show her affections on the surface, but some girls are just like that. Trust me; she's hiding her real feelings. I could tell just from listening to that lecture she gave you." Hitomi knew full-well that adding a touch of truth was the best way to make a lie more convincing. "And besides, what's not to like? I can see why she's so interested in you." The snow haired woman gave him a cheeky smirk. "You know if you were about ten years older, Pinky would have some competition."

Hitomi barely held in the laughter as she watched the goofiest grin she'd ever seen spread its way across his face.

"W-well that's really... um... Y-you know if I wasn't... I-I mean, I um..." the boy giggled and mumbled half sentences embarrassedly, his whole face practically glowing red.

'Time to move in for the kill,' the snow haired trickster decided.

She nudged him in the arm. "Hey, do you want to know what she likes about you the most?"

The boy's blue eyes lit up. "Um, yeah o-okay, why not?" he said, his bashful smile betraying his keen interest.

Hitomi giggled playfully. She gestured for him to come closer so she could whisper in his ear, and he eagerly leant in to listen. "She told me that what she loves the most about you... is that you're so stupid that she can trick you into doing anything she wants."

The blissful smile quickly melted off his face. "Huh...?" he whined pathetically.

Hitomi beamed. "That's right. She said that no matter how badly she treats you, you still come crawling back, begging for more. She loves leading you by the nose, stringing you along, letting you think you might actually have a chance with her some day." She ruffled his hair and gave his whiskers a pinch. "It's just so cute. You're her own personal plaything, aren't you?"

The snow haired woman sat there smiling for a moment, enjoying the shattered look on the young man's face. She decided the best way to describe his expression was 'gobsmacked with a side of heartbroken'. All too quickly, her cheerfully innocent facade began to crumble and Hitomi's shoulders shook with barely suppressed laughter. Still it took the boy another half a minute or so to realise that she'd been pulling his leg.

"Th-that's not funny!" Naruto protested, once it had finally clicked. "You didn't even talk to Sakura, did you?" He folded his arms and scowled at the woman.

Despite her best efforts, Hitomi could no longer hold it in. She held her aching sides and laughed uncontrollably. Her amusement only made the boy frown even more, which in turn made her laugh even more. "Oh come on, Kid, I was just messing with you," she managed to say, once she'd gotten the worst of it out of her system.

Naruto fumed at her. "I knew that!" he insisted, unconvincingly. "Sakura doesn't boss me around like that."

"Of course she doesn't," Hitomi said with a grin and a dismissive wave. "You're not the kind of guy who'd let a girl run his life, are you? A real man would never let a woman control him."

"You're damn right!" the boy heartily agreed.

"But apparently, he would let her beat the living daylights out of him," she said with a cheeky grin.

He cringed and hung his head in defeat.

Hitomi threw back her head and laughed out loud. 'Damn, this kid is such an easy target!' she thought. 'It'd almost be worth having him around just for the laughs.' She watched him sitting there, hunched over and sulking like a scolded preschooler. 'I can't believe everyone's making such a fuss about this loser. Tsunade said there was something special about him, but I don't see it. It looks to me like he's nothing but a typical, boxer-brained, fifteen year old. He thinks he's gonna be Hokage?' She snorted derisively. 'That kind of cheesy fairytale fantasy makes me sick. If he wants to have a dream, fine, he can go back into a coma. But this is reality – cold, hard, dream crushing, soul sucking, shove you face-first into the mud and kick you when you're down, reality.'

All of a sudden, the laughter had dwindled away. The snow haired woman turned aside and glared at the floor. She didn't find the boy's defeated expression so amusing now.

'Give it up, Kid. Dreams are for six year olds and snake oil peddlers.'

Depressing thoughts had sucked all of the fun out of her little game, and Hitomi suddenly had the desire to be somewhere else. "Well, Blondie, it's been fun. I'll see you later," she said as she hauled herself out of her chair. A moment ago, she'd found the boy entertaining, now he was making her feel very uneasy.

The boy just grunted in response. But when the snow haired woman was half way out the door, he called after her. "Hey, Hitomi?"

She stopped and glanced over her shoulder at him. "Yeah, what's up, Romeo?" she teased half-heartedly.

He was still pouting and glaring sideways at the wall, but despite her quip, his frown had softened. "You're going to see Hinata now, right?"

"Yeah, that's right," she answered eventually. "Why?"

"Could you... could you tell Hinata I said hi?" he asked. "And tell her I hope she gets better soon."

Hitomi just stared over her shoulder at him for a moment. She saw the opportunity for another jab at the young man's ego, but for once she let it slide. "Yeah... whatever," she answered noncommittally.

Hitomi stepped out into the hall and let the door click shut behind her. A sudden desire to take a deep breath took her by surprise. For some reason she felt relieved to be out of that room, but she didn't want to consider why. Somehow that gullible young man had touched a raw nerve in her heart, bringing long buried memories to the surface – memories that she'd been trying to ignore for half of her life. Hitomi quickly covered them over again and steered her mind back to the present.

'Okay, he's pretty much what I expected. So what's the verdict; could I stand travelling with him or not?' the snow haired woman mused. 'Well he'd probably be nothing but trouble, but at least he'd be amusing to have around,' she thought with a half-hearted smirk. 'Yeah, I'm pretty sure I could keep him in line. But the girl could be a different story. I wonder if the Hyuuga of the so called 'Main House' really are as bad as everyone said.'


A shockingly bad cup of coffee from the nearby vending machines cleared her head, and Hitomi was soon making her way down the hospitals spotless white hallways, searching for her next appointment. She came to a corner and paused. 'Hmm, room B7 – where's that supposed to be again?' As she was thinking, she glimpsed a wisp of candy pink out of the corner of her eye. Hitomi turned and found the young medical ninja doing her rounds. "Oh, hey there, Pinky. You couldn't tell me where to find room B7, could you?"

"Oh you mean Hinata's room? Sure I'll show you the way," Sakura answered cheerfully.

Hitomi thanked the young woman and followed her down the corridor.

As she trailed behind, Hitomi couldn't help but think about her little game with the whiskered boy and the part that the girl in front of her had unknowingly played. She felt a twang of guilt at the way she'd portrayed her. The thought of apologising crossed her mind, but Hitomi wasn't exactly eager to recount the entire scene to her. Then a disturbing thought occurred: what if the Hokage's new apprentice actually did have feelings for him? Would he really be leaving a girlfriend behind? Hitomi decided that she'd have to know how the pink haired girl felt about him.

She stepped in alongside the young med ninja. "Ugh, that coffee has got to be the worst I've ever tasted," she said with a visible shudder. "It feels like I just ate a box of caffeinated chalk."

The pink haired girl giggled.

Hitomi smiled, satisfied that the ice had been successfully broken. "Hey, uh, your name was Sakura, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, that's right."

"Listen, I know I don't know you that well, but could I ask you a sort of personal question?" she asked tentatively.

"Uh, about what?"

"Well, it's about Whisker Boy back there. You two are friends, right?"

"You mean Naruto? Yeah, we're friends. Not that he wouldn't like us to be more than that." She rolled her emerald green eyes.

"Not interested, huh?"

There was a noticeable pause. "Not exactly," Sakura mumbled.

Clearly there was something she didn't know, but Hitomi didn't have the heart to pry. "I asked him about you. Sorry, I just wanted to make sure." Not a true apology, but it was enough to quiet her conscience.

Hitomi thought she heard the young med ninja sigh. "That's okay. You're not the first person to ask," she said quietly.

It wasn't exactly an answer, but that was all Hitomi needed to know. There was nothing going on between them, though there was enough of a chance to keep the boy hoping. Another year or two around each other and she might have even been dumb enough to say yes. It was easy to see that hint of affection beneath the girl's domineering facade. She wondered how the Hokage's apprentice was going to feel when she found out the boy was leaving, but Hitomi knew she couldn't ask. They walked the rest of the way in silence.

Half a minute later they reached room B7. Sakura waved to the ninja guarding the hall, explaining that Hitomi was someone they could trust. The pink haired girl opened the door a crack and peeked into the room. "Hmm, it looks like Hinata's still asleep at the moment," she whispered. "She should be waking up soon, though. Would you like to wait, Miss Haruka?"

"Please, call me Hitomi," the woman said with a half smile. "I suppose I'll wait. I really need to talk with her, and I don't exactly have anything else to do around here." Quietly, she slid the door open and stepped in. "Don't worry, I won't wake her. I'll see you around, Sakura," the snow haired woman whispered, giving her a wave as she clicked the door shut.

The young med ninja paused for a moment, staring at the door. 'Hitomi Haruka...' She frowned in suspicion. 'What's she doing here? And what's she got to do with Naruto and Hinata?'
<EDIT>
I did it...

I actually did it...

You know, I don't think it's actually clicked in my head yet. I have finished editing chapter 27. I met my deadline. I can enjoy my Christmas without this hanging over my head. I thought I'd be more enthusiastic than this. Perhaps it's because I'm still not sure if it's 100% ready. But that could be because I'm a stark raving perfectionist, or perhaps because I'm absolutely trashed. :sleep: I just spent the entire day (almost) completely redoing that entire last scene (almost).

Hey wait... I think I'm finally starting to realise it. I have spent months... months editing this one chapter. And it's finally over! The lynchpin chapter of the lynchpin volume is finished!

:faint:

Those of you who are reading for the first time will not have any idea how much this chapter has changed. I have completely rewritten every single scene from the ground up. I'd estimate that less than 10% of the original text remains. And then there's the size increase. According to what I wrote below when I first posted this chapter, it was over 5000 words, and I thought that was big.

:roll: Oh dear.

This newly edited behemoth of a chapter tips the sumo scales at an overwhelming TWELVE THOUSAND FIVE HUNDERED AND TWELVE WORDS!!!

In fact I've just discovered, after trying to upload the chapter, that this monster is too damn big to fit the size limit for a text deviation! That means I've been forced to split the chapter in half. This is now chapter 27 part 1. I'll be posting chapter 27 part 2 shortly. Check the links below.

This is the longest chapter there will ever be in this story. I will make sure of it. I neve want to go through anything like this again. In fact, when I start writing my own original works (which is what I inted to do during my Christmas holidays), I do not plan to do anything this complex. What I have learned from this experience is that my writing style is too deep and long-winded for the style of books I want to write. You may think it's fine, but that's for fan-fiction. I intend to write fantasy novels, not drama/romance or anything heavy like that. Thus I'm going to try and curb the fluffyness of my writing style to make my stories more accesible.

Getting back on track, I hope you like what I did with the chapter. Hitomi's personality should be infinitely better defined by now, along with her motivations. Though I still left a lot of things unexplained, of course. :plotting: I've set up important future events and characters, too. Please go ahead and speculate. As always, I shall reveal nothing.

At the time of this update, it is Christmas eve 2010. I plan to spend the first week of my Christmas holidays doing exactly what I did with the first week of my Christmas holidays last year... ie nothing! With the completion of this edit, I have achieved everything I wanted to achieve before Christmas. I now have nothing hanging over my head and I can finally relax. :relax: You'll get the next chapter edit when I feel like it. =P

After I'm done with my "Week of Sloth"TM I shall finally begin my life's work. I am going to spend the rest of my holiday finding out what it's actually like to be a professional author. I plan to spend all of the time I would normally waste at my utterly loathesome day job writing my first novel. I can't wait to see how it goes.

Merry Christmas 2010 to all!!! :santa:
</EDIT>

Soul Fire chapter 27

GAH!!! Why do these chapters keep running long?!? Over 5000 words again! I tried to plan them out to be shorter, I really did. But I just can't help adding to them all the time. :stupidme: That opening scene with Hitomi and Tsunade wasn't even in the original plan.

Okay, this chapter probably takes the prize of the hardest chapter i've ever written. The whole scene with Hinata had me held up for ages. On the plus side, I really think I managed to flesh out Hitomi's personality the way I wanted to. I also got the chance to do some more hint dropping. I love doing that. :giggle:

Okay so i'm really lookking forward to hearing what you all think, so please give me some nice juicy comments to chew on. :chew: Comments are the meat and grog that keep my writing passion alive and strong, so the more the better. I particularly want to hear what you think of Hitomi so far.

Disclaimer: I don't own anybody or anything except Hitomi Haruka. Keep your grubby mitts off her!

Volume:1 [link]
Volume:2 [link]
Chapter:22 [link]
Chapter:23 [link]
Chapter:24 [link]
Chapter:25 [link]
Chapter:26 [link]
Chapter:27 part 1 ~~~
Chapter:27 part 2 [link]
Chapter:28 [link]
Chapter:29 [link]
Chapter:30 [link]
Volume:4 [link]
© 2008 - 2024 FifteenthApostle
Comments129
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In
randyneal's avatar
Ok...so Hitomi is going to be the teacher for Naruto and Hinata. She seems like a man hater in a way...first she got a kick out of something she said to embarrass the Pervy Sage and then she picks on Naruto. Will she always be this way with Naruto?? I am wondering when Hinata and Naruto get to spend time together again in the story...it's been a LONG wait! Aren't they in the same hospital...and Naruto doesn't go see her...that doesn't sound right.